Ok, is this one really a game? No, not entirely. BUT! The campaign does include a mini RPG adventure with it, so I'm going to call it ok on a non-precedential basis. It is by the folks that did the Baby Bestiary, too. I just think this thing's insanely cute. It's a little owlbear plushie that's up on Kickstarter now.

From the campaign:

The campaign's around 9x funded with 23 days to go.

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You wake up trapped in a tomb. I'm sure many of you have had that as a nightmare before, but you know, that could make for a fun board game. At least, that's what the makers of Maeshowe think. This quick-playing board game of escape is up on Kickstarter now.

From the campaign:

The campaign's more than 3x funded with 13 days to go.

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Not often that I have to edit something to keep it PG-13 for us here on the site, but it does sometimes happen. Magic and S--t is a new fantasy RPG zine that's up on Kickstarter now.

From the campaign:

Horns up for every hesher who ever tossed dice, beheaded the evil warlock-king and looted all his sweet magic crap - this is the zine for you!

Following up on the success of our RPG zines The Phylactery and The Phylactery 2, Planet X Games is stoked to bring you an all-new, all-different zine dedicated to weird fantasy magical items and artifacts with a heavy metal vibe. Magic and S--t is a cover-to-cover 48-page, saddle-stitched, 5.5-inch by 8.5-inch B&W printed zine with a bad ass color cover by Planet X favorite (and consumate, lifelong metalhead) Lawrence Hernandez. Like all of our zines, this poser-free fanzine is stacked with a ton of new plug-n-play content that you can drop directly into your fantasy role playing games. No rambling charts or useless page-filler to suck up space - just our usual grindhouse-style content infused with some denim and leather love for the 70s-80s metal scene.

The campaign's headed to 9x funded with 17 days to go.

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There's still a pandemic on, and so companies aren't able to head to conventions like usual. That's not entirely stopping them, though, as we have this "internet" thing. Conventions have simply moved there. And that's where Portalcon is happening tomorrow.

From the announcement:

PortalCon, our annual board game convention is taking place tomorrow! On Saturday, January the 23rd, we invite you to join us via Twitch and YouTube. We will announce our publishing plans for 2021.

This year, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, we can't meet you in person. Join us online, access to the event is free of charge and open to everyone. The entire Saturday program presented below will be presented in English and will include interactions with the viewers.

We invite all board game fans to join us at PortalCon on Saturday, January the 23rd. For more details please visit our website at: https://www.portalcon.pl/

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Fridaaaaaaaaaaaay! Woo! Normally, short weeks like this seem to take an eternity to me. That wasn't the case this week. As always, I'm not upset by that. Sure, I love my jobs, but ... I mean... weekend, amirite? Got some gaming lined up online and will probably go grab some groceries since I could use a refill on certain things. That includes snacks. But, at the moment, there's some tasty, bite-sized gaming stories to snack on in the meantime.

New Dice Sets Availalbe From Kraken Dice

Klaus the bartender is at it again and trying out 2 new drinks. Boo Berry and Blue Moon Cosmo will be releasing today,

New WWII German Soldier Available From Brother Vinni

Hello!

We just have released next two WW2 Germans, welcome!

they are available in our webstore, as usual

WizKids has announced a partnership with everyone's favorite RP show, Critical Role. They have announced that they will be creating miniatures based on the popular series, with both monsters, PCs, and NPCs making an appearance.

From the article:

WizKids, the premier manufacturer of premium pre-painted miniatures and tabletop games, today announced a partnership with Critical Role, the most popular story-driven and worldbuilding digital media brand in the world. Adding to its leading line of high-quality miniatures, WizKids will debut product offerings from the expansive world of Exandria, beginning Q1 2021.  

“I’ve been a rabid collector of WizKids’ minis for… well, a very long time, and to be able to work directly with them to bring the denizens and dangers of Exandria to life for everyone to use is beyond exciting,” said Matthew Mercer, Chief Creative Officer and cast member of Critical Role. “They bring such skill and expertise to their work, and this upcoming collection really captures the characters and atmosphere of Exandria. I think fans of Critical Role, as well as players new to our world, will greatly enjoy this opportunity for deeper play, collaboration, and imagination.” 

 At launch, fans can expect to see iconic monsters and popular Player Characters (PCs) to enhance their own adventures in the roleplaying game set on the continent of Wildemount. Included in these is Critical Role’s Game Master Matthew Mercer’s famed deluxe “gargantuan” size, pre-painted Udaak. Sculpted with high-detailed features using premium paints, it’s truly a great foe, or ally, for any adventure! 

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I use Roll20 each week to play my D&D game. It lets our group play even though we live all over the country. And it's getting ever-more content. The latest is Wardlings in collaboration with WizKids and Renegade Game Studios.

From the announcement:

Renegade Game Studios is proud to announce a new partnership with Roll20, beginning with today’s release of the Wardlings Campaign Guide for the Roll20 platform.

With a new Adventure Module featuring new custom maps, a charactermancer-compatible Compendium expansion, and a player token and handout pack, Roll20 now has everything a group needs to start playing Wardlings online.

Wardlings is a 5th Edition-compatible campaign setting, based on WizKids’ pre-painted miniatures line, where the youth are the only ones capable of perceiving and interacting with the magic of the world. It provides a great entry point in to roleplaying for ages 10 and up.

Roll20 is an online service that makes it easy to play your favorite roleplaying games remotely. It provides a shared virtual tabletop, a variety of communication tools, and access to a marketplace filled with content for your favorite system.

This is just the start of a new collaboration between Renegade Games and Roll20. In the coming months there are plans to bring additional Renegade RPG lines to the platform.

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Commanders in an army in the A Song of Ice and Fire: Tabletop Miniatures Game can drastically change the way a force plays not just because of the different abilities the minis have, but that they also bring different Tactics Cards to play. With the changes coming to the game soon, CMON wanted to give you a bit of a heads-up as to what will change with them.

From the article:

Bannermen! Fábio Cury, Lead Developer, here again with you to talk about Commanders this time.

As we stated in our previous Visions in the Flames, Characters have an important role in ASOIAF TMG because of their unique nature and how they can either reinforce a faction’s playstyle or bring something to the game that wouldn’t usually be available to that faction. The apex of this statement is embodied in the Commanders and today we’ll elaborate on our thought process for reevaluating them.

First and foremost, all Commanders should be unique in their own right. No two character are the same in the ASOIAF setting and this should be accentuated in Commanders. Although not all Commanders have necessarily Abilities unique to them, they do have a higher chance of having unique Abilities and Tactics Cards. That being said, when Commanders don’t have any unique Abilities or Cards, their whole “Kit” should be unique through the combination of existing effects.

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Many of you have played the original Carcassonne and many have even played Carcassonne: Hunters & Gatherers. In this article, Z-Man Games looks into the newest edition of the game, giving you a look at the way this variant plays. Have yourselves a look.

From the article:

You crouch behind a rock at the edge of the grasslands, carefully listening. The grass rustles and you slowly look around the rock to spot your prey: a deer gently nibbling at the long grass. You heft your spear. Tonight the tribe will eat well.

Before there were tall stone castles and walls, there were forests and rivers filled with wildlife. The classic tile-laying gameplay of Carcassonne journeys to the prehistoric era in Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers! Players will take turns placing tiles to expand and explore the wild landscape, aiming to find natural features and resources for them to claim for their tribe’s survival.

...

Since Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers was first released in 2002, it’s become one of the most popular standalone versions in the Carcassonne series. This new edition of Hunters and Gatherers includes all the same great gameplay, plus updated art and additional menhir tiles with unique effects. Will you be the one to claim the most points and help your tribe survive in this prehistoric world?

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I know. I know. We don't cover CCGs all that often on the page. However, this one is kinda close to my heart. Warlord was a game I played way back in the day. Heck, my LGS had the Warlord fever so much, one guy was even nicknamed Warlord Guy. Well, the game's not been around in a long time, but AEG is releasing a new set.

From the article:

After two decades, a classic of the CCG era returns. Warlord: Saga of the Storm is back for a birthday celebration. This year will see the release of a 20th Anniversary Celebration pack featuring all-new cards for the game. This pack is a look at who some of the Medusan Lords were when they were but Warlords. You can build entirely new decks around them! Including my favorite, and the first Medusan Lord defeated, Nassiral Hate.

You may be asking yourself, “why is AEG producing a set for a game that has not been published in nearly 15 years, and have no current plans to bring it back?” 

Four reasons:

1. We still love the game.
2. The fans, who have become our friends over the decades, are still connected, playing and trading cards.
3. We loved the idea of exploring the history of some of our favorite characters.
4. 20 years is an amazing milestone for any game product.

Warlord was pitched to me when the d20 craze was in full swing. I loved the game but the cherry on top of the pitch was they wanted to use my game world as the setting for Warlord. We launched Warlord using the tag line “The game you already know how to play” and if you had ever played a d20 roleplaying game you did indeed know how to play. We gave away 400,000 decks, inserting them into all of the major magazines, distributor catalogs, and handing them out at shows. Yes, you read that right, 400,000. That’s almost half a million. It was a huge gamble but it paid off and Warlord: Saga of the Storm was the greatest launch of a new game in AEG’s history.

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